INDIVIDUAL PLACEMENT AND SUPPORT SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT/EDUCATION

BBHC is elated to announce that Broward County is officially a member of the Rockville Institute’s IPS Employment Center, International Learning Community, where states, regions, and countries work together in implementing the evidence-based Individual Placement and Support (IPS)- Supported Employment, to service people with serious mental illness who want to gain employment as part of their recovery.

During the fiscal year of 2015-2016, the local Managing Entity BBHC, in partnership with the Regional Department of Children and Families Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DCF SAMH) Office in Broward County and the local Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) Office, established a pilot program that offers the evidence-based IPS Supported Employment services.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) 2014 report, Florida has an 84.7% unemployment rate for persons with mental health and substance use challenges. IPS is an evidence-based practice that provides individualized employment supports which focuses on individuals’ strengths to find competitive jobs in the community. IPS also integrates Supported Education for persons who want to improve their career pathways. Research data from IPS sites that are implemented to fidelity show anywhere between 53-79% competitive employment rates.

Characteristics of the IPS model includes the following:It is an evidence-based practice

Practitioners focus on each person’s strengths

Work promotes recovery and wellness

Practitioners work in collaboration with state vocational rehabilitation counselors

IPS uses a multidisciplinary team approach

Services are individualized and last as long as the person needs and wants them

Persons with disabilities requiring special accommodations in order to participate should contact BBHC by emailing Danica Mamby at dmamby@bbhcflorida.org or Nikitress Williams at nwilliams@bbhcflorida.org 48 hours in advance of the meeting to request such accommodations. Please send us an email to report suspected Fraud, Waste, or Abuse.